Is It Too Late?
by XellossLina
Summary: Sylphiel arrives in Seyruun with a surprise, it's the day of Gourry & Lina's wedding! Can Sylphiel wish them luck when she's watching the man she loves marry another? And what does the mysterious priest Xelloss want with her? One Shot Story, Gourry/Lina Shippers this story is not for you lol


Sylphiel Nels Lahda sighed as she arrived in the city of Seyruun, while she had been working on rebuilding her city of Sairaag she still had shrine maiden duties here, and she had received word she was needed here today on a job. She smiled and approached the palace that the guards knew her face well after the more recent battle against Zanaffar a little over a year ago. She then noticed several servants were all around, and the castle was rather dressed up.

"Is there some kind of event going on?" Sylphiel asked one of the servants.

"There's a wedding being held today." One of the maids answered. "Princess Amelia wants us to make sure everything is just right."

"Amelia is getting married?" Sylphiel gasped.

"No, her friend Lina Inverse." The maid answered.

"Oh." The priestess said as she held her breath. _"… Who is she marrying?"_ she shivered just a bit, hoping it wasn't who she thought it was.

"I think his name is Gourry Gabriev." The maid said.

Sylphiel fought the urge to faint. Lina told her that she didn't feel that way for Gourry! She had her suspicions that those two might end up together, and while she could be happy for her friends it still saddened her as she was still in love with Gourry, but never found the courage to tell him, and now_… It was too late._ "I…. I see." She choked, quickly turning her head to hide the tears creeping up in her eyes. "Please excuse me." She darted off down the hall.

Why oh why did she have to show up now? To have it thrown in her face that she waited too long to tell Gourry how she felt to lose him this way? But she couldn't do anything about it now, and she needed to pull herself together to put on a brave face for her friends. She quickly dried her tears and tried to make herself presentable as she looked around for any familiar faces.

But then she bumped into someone. "Sylphiel?" a voice asked as hands touched her shoulders.

Sylphiel froze at the sound of the voice. She had wished she only imagined it but once she looked up it took everything not to burst out crying. "_G-Gourry dear…_" she choked.

"You came!" Gourry cried, his face bright and cheerful. His blonde hair was neatly groomed and he was in a tuxedo. "I was hoping you would but wasn't sure where to find you, when I sent word to Sairaag they said you weren't there."

"Oh…" Sylphiel flushed. "Well I was performing my shrine maiden duties, but the reason I'm here is because I was called to do something for the palace on this day, I had left early to make sure I'd get here on time."

"Well I'm glad you did." Gourry smiled brightly. "Because something important was happening today… Ummm…" he made a face. "… What was it again? Darn it's something to do with Lina I think…"

Sylphiel found herself chuckling at the swordman's memory. It always did make her laugh. "I believe you're getting married to her, right?"

"Oh yeah!" Gourry smacked his fist into the palm of his hand. "That's it! Thanks Sylphiel."

Sylphiel tried to hold back her tears that threatened to creep up again. "So… So she finally admitted she is in love with you?"

"Huh? Well if she did I don't remember…" Gourry rubbed his head. "I just proposed and she accepted."

The priestess just looked at him dumbfounded. "W-well what about when you confessed to her?"

"_Confess?_" Gourry just looked even more clueless at that.

"Ummm, nevermind Gourry dear." Sylphiel sweatdropped. "Where is Miss Lina? I'd like to congratulate her."

"Oh she's in the dressing room with Amelia." Gourry pointed down the hall. "I think it's that way."

"Gourry if she follows your directions she'll get lost for sure." Spoke a cloaked figure in the corner.

"Oh! Mr. Zelgadis right?" Sylphiel asked.

The cloaked figure removed his hood, revealing the man with blue rock-like skin and wire blue hair. "It's been a little while, Sylphiel. I couldn't help but overhear."

"Oh hey Zel, think you can show Sylphiel where Lina is then?" Gourry asked.

"Sure, follow me." Zelgadis waved his hand, then started walking.

"I'll see you in a little while Sylphiel." Gourry pat the priestess's shoulder. "Glad to have you here."

"… Good to see you too, Gourry dear…" Sylphiel hung her head low.

"Is something wrong? Maybe you need to eat something Lina gets a face like that everytime she needs to eat!" Gourry chuckled.

Sylphiel shook her head. "N-no I'm fine." She choked, dashing ahead to catch up with Zelgadis.

"When I saw you I had wondered why you showed up, outside of to give a brave face." Zelgadis spoke once they were far enough away from Gourry.

"… But you heard how I didn't know, didn't you?" Sylphiel asked, her head looking sideways as they walked.

"It wasn't hard to figure out, had you known you would have prepared yourself and not fallen apart so easily back there." Zelgadis noted. "Whereas when you first hear something you fall apart fast."

Sylphiel's head lowered. "Is it that obvious?"

"I think everyone _EXCEPT_ Gourry knows you're in love with him Sylphiel." Zelgadis said flatly. "Honestly I have no idea why you never told him."

"… _That…_ Doesn't matter right now." Sylphiel sniffed. "It's too late for me, and I would never come between Miss Lina and Gourry dear…"

"I don't know though, with the way these two are getting married it's not the greatest idea…" Zelgadis mumbled. "Especially since Lina isn't telling us the whole truth."

"Huh?" Sylphiel looked up at him.

Zelgadis sighed and rubbed his head. "… You'll find out when you see her." He knocked on the door. "Amelia it's me."

"Mr. Zelgadis I can't finish getting Miss Lina ready if you interrupt!" Amelia threw the door open, but then her eyes widened. "Oh! Miss Sylphiel! It's so good to see you!"

"Hello Miss Amelia." Sylphiel chuckled. "I'm here because I was called out to perform a job for Seyruun."

"Job?" Amelia blinked a few times. "Things have been peaceful here, I don't see why daddy would call for you. Maybe I should go check." She then poked her head into the room. "I'll be right back Miss Lina! You look great!" she grabbed Zel's hand. "Let's go Mr. Zelgadis! It's a ladies only room!"

"H-hey wait why do I have to go with you to see Phil?!" Zelgadis complained as she pulled him along.

Sylphiel chuckled at that, then slowly walked into the room. "Miss Lina?" she looked around until she saw the familiar red hair sitting in a chair facing away from the room in front of a mirror.

"Hey Sylphiel." Lina said softly. "It's been a while, haven't seen you since that incident with Zanaffar."

"I wanted to come and congratulate you after hearing the news." Sylphiel smiled, closing her eyes to better hide her emotions waging war inside her.

"Which news?" Lina asked in a somewhat flat voice.

"Huh?" Sylphiel blinked a few times. "Y-your marriage to Gourry dear of course."

"Oh yeah, that." Lina sighed.

"I just have to admit I was surprised to hear you agreed to getting married, you didn't seem the type." Sylphiel chuckled, closing the door behind her.

"Well, I didn't have much of a choice unless I wanted to add more bad things to my reputation…" Lina grumbled.

"What are you talking about?" Sylphiel asked.

"Oh? They didn't tell you?" Lina blinked a few times, looking at the priestess through the reflection in the mirror. She slowly scooted the seat back and stood on her feet, then turned to face her.

Lina's hair was still down, Amelia hadn't put the veil on her yet. But she was wearing a long, flowing white wedding gown with a bell like trim on the bottom, but the thing that made Sylphiel's eyes widen was the swollen abdomen Lina's hand was currently resting on.

"O-oh… So that's why Gourry dear just asked you to marry him, to take responsibility for… Well…" Sylphiel was shaking from the shock, and trying not to faint.

Lina raised a hand to quiet her. "It's not what you think. It's not Gourry's."

"It isn't?" Sylphiel gasped, and felt somewhat relieved at that. "Then who…?"

"I don't want to talk about it." Lina snapped. "Once I told Gourry what happened he thought it would be _'better'_ for my rep to be married to a guy and claim it's his, instead of letting everyone think I'm the knocked up whore that got raped."

"Oh my, I'm so sorry Miss Lina…" Sylphiel took her hand and held it. "Was it bandits? To get revenge for you nearly wiping them all out?"

"… Yeah…. That." Lina looked away from her as she answered.

Though Sylphiel seemed to be processing something. "But how did they get past your powers? Did a Mazoku curse you? I mean if it was your time of the month you wouldn't be-"

"_**I SAID I DIDN'T WANT TO TALK ABOUT IT SYLPHIEL!**_" Lina growled.

Sylphiel shivered at her reaction. "I'm… I'm sorry Miss Lina."

"Just leave me alone… I need to get ready." Lina snapped, sitting back down. "Gourry wants to take care of this kid fine. But I'm not marrying him because I want to."

Sylphiel frowned at that. "… I'm sorry to hear that, Gourry is a wonderful, caring dear. I'm sure that in time…"

"Don't give me that crap Sylphiel, you wanted to marry him but never got the guts to speak up." Lina turned to her with a glare. "And since the jellyfish brains doesn't have a god damn clue, you have to spell it out for him or he'll never notice. And sometimes what you really want is like reaching for the impossible, even for Lina Inverse."

Sylphiel arched her eyebrow at that last statement. "… I would love to marry Gourry dear, but I've been afraid, afraid all this time of rejection and that I cause harm to those I love. So I isolated myself, and I thought he was in love with you so I didn't want to come between you, I want what's best for him."

Lina rolled her eyes. "Sometimes you don't know what you really want until it's too late, Sylphiel."

"Well, none the less I wish the best for you both." Sylphiel pat her shoulder. She then knew she had to get out of there as she headed for the door. "… It's the least I can do since it's my fault for not telling him sooner." She sniffed and quickly ran out of the room before she broke down in tears.

Sylphiel quickly found herself in a room that looked like no one was in, found a chair to sit down as she balled her eyes out crying. Here she loved Gourry, loved him with all her heart and now he's marrying someone just because he feels he needs to because he considers himself Lina's protector. Why oh why did she wait so long and never tell him? But that didn't explain the mystery behind Lina's pregnancy, like she figured out the odds that bandits really caught her would be odd considering wouldn't Gourry had noticed she was kidnapped and freed her? If it was a really powerful enemy she was sure Zelgadis would have told her, and he did say Lina wasn't telling them the whole story.

Then there was the whole mess of why was she here when no one seemed to know why? It's almost as if she was brought here to point out Lina's mistake into marrying Gourry just to save face. By her reaction was the father alive and didn't want anything to do with the baby? Or did Lina have a one night stand with someone and too ashamed to admit it? That puzzled her all the more…

"My, my, my we're having quite the mental breakdown here, aren't we?" a shrill voice echoed in the room. "It is a delightful meal, I must say."

"W-who's there?!" Sylphiel stood up, looking around.

There was a flash, and then suddenly a familiar face materialized in front of her of one Mazoku she had met briefly before. The purple hair and staff gave him away. "I believe we met before once but only for a short time, my name is Xelloss."

"I.. I remember you." Sylphiel shivered. "You're… You're a monster right? You were the one that informed us that Miss Lina was possessed by the Lord of Nightmares."

"Ahhh, you do have a good memory, unlike that brainless oaf you're upset over." Xelloss chuckled, waving his forefinger.

"Why are you here?" Sylphiel asked. "If you intend to hurt Miss Lina I-"

"I do not intend to harm her." Xelloss waved his hand. "That's what you're here for."

"**What?!**" Sylphiel gasped. "… You… You're the one that sent for me to come here?"

"I suppose you could call it a _'job'_ in a way." Xelloss rubbed his chin. "But seeing as Lina's friends I highly doubt would help me I had to seek outside help."

"Why would I help you?!" Sylphiel cried.

"Because we'll both get what we want out of this." Xelloss opened one eye as he spoke. "You want Mr. Gourry, and I…" he cut himself off. "… Well, let's just say it would upset me to see Miss Lina with such an unworthy human and in possession of something I consider mine."

Sylphiel gasped as the pieces were falling into place. "… Oh my… You mean…. You're the father of her baby?!" she nearly shouted.

"As it were yes." Xelloss rubbed his cheek. "Lina had me completely fooled it was that idiotic swordsman's until recently. I noticed the astral signature around her belly was too close to that of my own."

"But how…?" Sylphiel felt her body shaking from this information. "I-I've never heard of a Mazoku and a human…"

"As it were, my lord has a very strange sense of humor…" Xelloss made a face. "She created me along with the form I take on this plane. Which she made almost completely like a human, I even can have all those internal organs you humans do to help me better pass as one, I even can bleed red if I choose to." He explained. "… But I had no idea she made my… Other organs real as well, down to the most tiny detail, to the point I could impregnate Miss Lina." He sighed once. "I think that was her plan all along, as when I told her she was ecstatic and wants to meet her."

"But Miss Lina won't see you, will she?" Sylphiel asked.

Xelloss shook his head. "Until last month she had most of her powers, so a quick Ragna Blade and she could fight me off decently well. Besides the fact that I'd rather not start a war with her friends or her sister, the Knight of Cepheid for that matter. All of whom would come after her if I kidnapped her." He shrugged his shoulders. "And now she's under watch by all her friends constantly."

"Did you… Force her?" Sylphiel asked, she obviously suspected it.

Xelloss made another face. "Just how low of a Mazoku do you really think I am? One of my rankings takes that as an insult, only the completely weak and foolish would do that as getting a human to come to them willingly is far the better challenge, not the mention we are asexual by nature."

"Then… Why?" Sylphiel still seemed confused by the situation.

"… _She tricked me."_ Xelloss turned his head to the side, crossing his arms. "I'd rather not go into the details, but I owed her a favor and she claimed she needed _'help'_ in learning human mating before bedding Mr. Gourry, as he mocks her for being childlike in looks all the time she wanted to up him one, or so she claimed."

Sylphiel sighed and sat back down. "But you knew different at the end, and that's why she got upset."

"I am empathic by nature, as we feed off the emotions you humans radiate." Xelloss explained. "She slipped at the very end, I must admit she kept her act up a good long time, but her emotions revealed to be… Far too positive towards me." His features hardened at that. "The odd thing was that I didn't feel nearly half as bad as when Miss Amelia screams 'Life in Wonderful' in my ear, so perhaps it's just the overly positive ones that bother my kind."

"But she believes what we all do, that Mazoku cannot love so she thinks she made a mistake." Sylphiel summed up the pieces. "And she's so ashamed she doesn't want to see you to be reminded of that, as she'd have to admit she made it up to bed you because… She loves you, not Gourry."

"That's basically it." Xelloss sighed. "I spent the following two months figuring out how to explain my _'relationship'_ with Miss Lina and when I came to her, she revealed that's what she had hoped would have happened, as she noticed my… Fondness towards her long ago. So she told me I could keep her, which when I came back to tell her, she forced me away and told me she was pregnant with Gourry's child and was getting married, and to get out of her life. She hasn't spoken to me since."

"And now she's six months pregnant, and about to marry Gourry, so you're running out of time." Sylphiel explained. "Perhaps she thought with all that time you away you weren't coming back and already made an excuse for her pregnancy by then."

"_Perhaps_." Xelloss shrugged. "At first I assumed she really did have feelings for the oaf, but then I realized the child was mine. But then I knew stealing her away at the wedding wouldn't win me any points for her affection, as she probably believes there is no chance for a Mazoku and a human to work, and besides the fact I prefer to not get my hands dirty with a mission when someone else can." He grinned.

"And that's where I come in?" Sylphiel asked.

"Pretty much." Xelloss chuckled. "If you were the steal the groom away, Lina would be open for me to speak to during the confusion. I'm fairly certain if given enough time I could spark those emotions back out of her. After all…" he smirked. "I miss those headlocks."

Sylphiel sweatdropped, figuring it was best not to ask about that one. "B-but I could never…"

Xelloss took a step closer to her. "You might think it is too late for you, but if you do not act it will be too late for both of us. And I prefer the strategy that doesn't involving me killing Mr. Gourry."

"_**You wouldn't!**_" Sylphiel gasped.

"I'm Mazoku, am I not?" Xelloss opened both eyes. "Well I prefer not to resort to violence, my lord has given me the order to bring Lina Inverse to her, and I will do it. This is just the less… Messy method, as I've come to enjoy this group of humans, and they are associated with Miss Lina, so I'd be terribly upset if I was forced to rid of them, they have been useful over the years."

"No please!" the priestess grabbed the demon's hand. "Don't hurt him! I'll do anything you ask but not Gourry dear and the others!"

Xelloss smirked at that. "So then you'll cooperate?"

Sylphiel tensed up for a moment. How could she make a deal with a Mazoku? But if she didn't… Gourry's life was on the line. But what about Lina? She didn't seem all that thrilled with the idea of marrying Gourry, and if she was right and Lina did have feelings for Xelloss perhaps it would be better to get these two together. But Sylphiel feared she could just be getting Lina into trouble at the same time. So she had to make sure to cover all grounds.

"You Mazoku, you make contracts with humans don't you?" Sylphiel asked.

Xelloss had closed one eye as he was looking at her. "Yes we do."

"We make a contract then about this arrangement." Sylphiel spoke firmly, he hand still holding the demon priest's. "I will agree to stop the wedding and take Gourry away from Lina, but you have to hold your word that Lina will not be harmed or forced to leave. She has to go with you by her own will or our contract breaks and I will return Gourry to her and with his memory I could convince him that he just had the wrong day for the wedding. And you cannot harm Gourry, myself, or anyone else involved with Miss Lina."

Xelloss smirked at that. "You're more clever than they give you credit for, Miss Sylphiel." His hand glowed as a sign of the contract being made. "Done. So you know now that if Miss Lina leaves with me it is by her own free will. I am a Mazoku of my word."

Sylphiel nodded then. "Alright then. The wedding's about to begin I'll start the commotion which will draw everyone's attention… That will leave Miss Lina alone for you to talk to her."

"Think you can handle it?" Xelloss asked. "I could always drop in a few spells just to add to the chaos."

"No harm to them, remember?" the priestess said firmly.

"Damage to the building doesn't apply to them, I'd be sure the rubble wouldn't crush them." Xelloss shrugged. "But fine, the emotions from your little scene might prove entertaining."

Sylphiel nodded, trying to build up her nerve as she headed for the door. "… You said you're an empath right? Do you know if Gourry dear…?"

"His emotions run high when you're around, if that's what you're asking." Xelloss chuckled. "It's rather sickening for me to be honest it's so positive. I prefer the more chaotic love Miss Lina radiates for me."

Sylphiel's eyes soften as she looked at him, holding the door open. "… You know, I never believed Mazoku could love. But seeing how you're going through all this to get Miss Lina, I think this is the only way a demon can express his feelings."

Xelloss's nose wrinkled at that. "Please Miss Sylphiel, your positivity is giving me a headache. I preferred when you were utterly depressed."

The priestess giggled at that. "You and Miss Lina are a lot alike, you don't like people to figure out what you're really feeling… I wish you luck." She then headed out of the room.

The butterflies were building in her stomach as she approached the doors to the main room. She could hear music playing on the other side and saw Amelia leaving Lina's room.

"Are you sure you don't want anyone to walk you down the aisle Miss Lina?" Amelia asked.

Sylphiel didn't hear Lina's answer, just saw Amelia head towards her. "This wedding is going to be so great." The princess said cheerfully.

"Yes…" Sylphiel nodded quietly, walking in slowly behind her. "Miss Lina wants to enter alone?"

Amelia sighed. "Yes, daddy offered to walk her and so did Mr. Zelgadis. She insists she's fine and can do it herself."

"I see…" Sylphiel's eyes scanned the room. It looked like everyone was in this room so it was now or never. She waited until Amelia sat down then she rushed up to Gourry who was standing at the end with the priest for the ceremony. "_**Gourry!**_"

"Hey Sylphiel, shouldn't you be sitting down?" Gourry rubbed his head. "I think the wedding is starting soon."

Sylphiel shivered for a moment, taking a deep breath to build her nerve. _It's now or never…_ "Gourry dear you can't marry Miss Lina!"

"Huh?" Zel's eyes widened at this situation.

"M-Miss Sylphiel?!" Amelia's jaw dropped.

Gourry just blinked rapidly. "Why not?"

"Because… Because it would be a big mistake!" Sylphiel cried, her hands were shaking as she spoke. "I've seen how she abuses you, how she'll be walking all over you for your entire life, not to mention that child isn't even yours!"

Gourry rubbed the back of his head. "Well yeah I know it's not mine… But…"

"Please Gourry don't go through with it!" Sylphiel grabbed his hands. "… I… I'm in love with you!" she blurted out all at once. "Please marry me instead of her!" she let the tears she'd been holding back out now, looking into the eyes of the man she loved. But her heart was so scared he'd just cement her worry that it was too late now…

"Sylphiel…" Gourry just looked dumbstruck.

"She doesn't love you! She's in love with someone else and do you really love her?!" Sylphiel shouted. "You can't just do this because you feel you're her protector! I want you for the person you are, I've been in love with you since the first time I met you Gourry dear! Please, please choose me over her!" she suddenly then kissed the blonde on the lips.

Lina was currently standing behind the doors which were opened just slightly as she had heard the start of the shouting, she came over to find out what it was. "About damn time she spoke up…" she mumbled.

"Quite bold for a priestess, isn't she?" a shrill voice came from behind her.

"…. Who the hell invited you?" Lina growled, not having to turn around to see who it was. "I told you last time Xelloss get lost I'm getting married to Gourry."

Xelloss closed the door and pressed his hand against the wall, trapping her from escape. "From the looks of it here, Miss Sylphiel might just be stopping that from happening."

Lina still didn't turn around. "Just because we don't do it today doesn't mean he won't forget quickly and we try again. Is that why you're here? To feed off my emotions as Sylphiel tries to steal him?"

"No." Xelloss replied flatly, his hand moved forward to wrap around her abdomen. "I came to ask you why you lied to me. That this child is in fact mine."

The sorceress froze at that. ".. How did you…?"

"Now that's a secret." Xelloss chuckled into her ear. "Why don't you admit this whole wedding was just to get my attention? You were going to let Gourry invite Sylphiel hoping this would happen. You don't really want to marry that lug, it was just convenient at the time. And you didn't answer my question."

"… You're Mazoku, what the hell would you have to do with a child?" Lina asked, slowly turning to face him. "Besides I saw the face you made when you realized it was you I wanted and not really Gourry, positive emotions are of no use to you."

Xelloss smirked at that. "Well I've never created anything before, so it would be very interesting to watch. As for the other matter." He brushed his fingers on her chin. "I was just so surprised that a human could feel that way for one of my kind. I left because I had to figure out how to explain the situation to Lord BeastMaster."

"I figured when you came back if you found out it was yours, she'd order you to either kill me or take it from me." Lina turned her head to the side. "So I tried to make you think it was Gourry's."

Xelloss shook his head. "Actually my master wishes to meet you in person, and make you an offer as it were. You see, the child you carry isn't as normal as any other would be." He caressed her stomach softly. "Each time you've cast the Giga Slave you've called the Golden Lord into your body, that's left some energy behind. It eventually needed to manifest into something. Now had you conceived from someone like that brainless oaf, the magic probably would not have held. But my Mistress made some alterations to my form and with my capacity it's held."

Lina's eyes went wide. "… Are you saying that…?"

"You're carrying a piece of the Lord of Nightmares in human form, much like how your sister is a Knight of Cepheid and Rezo was a piece of Lord Ruby Eye." Xelloss explained. "So no, Lord Zelas means you no harm. And in fact because of this, you would be protected by myself and my race for carrying a piece of our great lord, the Lord of Nightmares."

Lina was just speechless now. But then her features hardened. "And you expect me to just go with you because of this?"

"Of course not for just that." Xelloss leaned in closer, opening his eyes. "I want you to come with for an entirely different reason." He closed the distance between them as he kissed her.

Lina didn't even fight the kiss, in fact she welcomed it as she had missed his lips against hers for a long time now. She leaned back against the wall as his mouth molded against hers, and she was left breathless once he broke the kiss.

Xelloss smiled and took her hand, kissing the back of her palm. "Do I need to further explain or do you wish me to further shame myself?"

Lina smirked at that. "Well you are asking the beautiful sorcery genius to run away with you, there should be some more effort involved." She laughed. "But for you to go through all this trouble rather than just grab me and steal me away… I think I get it, and about time you picked up on my hint that I wasn't going to go through with marrying Gourry. I gambled a lot on hoping I could make a Mazoku jealous."

"You're full of surprises Miss Lina." Xelloss chuckled, kissing her cheek. "Luckily unlike a human I don't panic when the sense of that it's too little too late to do anything. Much like Miss Sylphiel when I brought her here."

"I had a funny feeling that was you." Lina sighed. "That's why I told her most of the story and that it wasn't Gourry's kid, as much as that idiot and I could never get through a marriage without his stupidity making me want to murder him, I don't want him to be alone."

"You're lucky I'm not one truly prone to jealously, or else that swordsman would have been killed by my own hands." Xelloss chuckled. "After all his death did sound like a good idea at one point for trying to take something that is mine."

"Lina Inverse belongs to no one." Lina snapped at him.

"Of course I was referring to the baby, as even if it's the embodiment of the Golden Lord, it's still created from a piece of me." Xelloss chuckled, wrapping an arm around her. "But I have no problem with being yours, I'm already a useful item am I not?"

Lina flushed and turned her head. "Whatever you damn fruitcake."

Xelloss smirked at her, kissing his finger and pressing it against her lips. "Shall we then?"

"One thing first. Wait here." Lina said, blushing like mad from his action. She kicked the doors open seeing that Gourry hadn't really stopped kissing with Sylphiel, she cleared her voice. "What the hell is this?!"

"L-Lina!" Gourry looked up at her.

"_Oh my!_" Sylphiel gasped.

Lina huffed and crossed her arms. "I can't believe you two! You stand there making out when-" she stopped to take a breath as she came up right in front of them. "You need to take your vows first." She chuckled.

"**HUH?!**" Zelgadis's jaw dropped, having expected a violent reaction.

Amelia and Phil were just plain shocked.

"Miss Lina… What are you?" Sylphiel was shaking.

"Sylphiel, you told me before you'd do anything for Gourry, and Gourry…" Lina sighed. "You said before Sylphiel is the perfect girl. I don't need you to be my protector anymore and she does need you. So… Go ahead and marry her you jellyfish brains before it's too late and you've lost her forever!"

"But Lina, what are you…?" Gourry looked up at the doorway and saw Xelloss, then nodded. "Alright then."

"Miss Lina, you mean you're…?" Sylphiel's words trailed off.

"Sylphiel, sometimes when you think it's too late to get what you want most, it's the time to grab it and never let go." Lina said, smiling as she turned around. "Don't blow it." She then walked over to Xelloss, who took her hand and teleported away.

"So she and Xelloss finally made up huh?" Gourry asked. "That's good, now the baby can have its real father in its life." He chuckled.

Sylphiel's eyes widened. "Gourry dear! You knew all along that Mr. Xelloss was the father?!"

"Well yeah, I knew I didn't do it." Gourry counted off. "I suspected Zel at first but then saw it wasn't him, and the odds that bandits really captured her was unlikely as I've been with her the whole time and she was never away that long! Besides the fact she can take care of herself. And she always acts differently with him, plus she kept him away everytime he came around after she told us she was pregnant."

"So you were just going along with the wedding…?" Zelgadis asked.

"Yeah, I figured Lina was just trying to anger him into asking her to marry him." Gourry laughed. "I was a bit worried at first he'd try to kill me, but I was sure Lina could handle it."

_Everyone just sweatdropped at this…._

"So is there going to be a wedding here or not..?" the priest asked with a sweatdrop.

"Well…" Sylphiel blushed, looking up at Gourry.

"I think we should take Lina's advise and not waste the opportunity, we're here aren't we?" Gourry asked, smiling down at the priestess. "What do you say Sylphiel, will you marry me?"

Sylphiel's eyes began to water again as she threw her arms around him. "I will! I will!" she sobbed into his shoulder.

"H-hey don't be so upset Sylphiel I mean if you don't want to…" Gourry pat her back.

"Oh Mr. Gourry how can you be so dense?!" Amelia snapped. "Miss Sylphiel is full of joy don't you get it?"

Zelgadis just made a face. "This is just getting too weird for me, I'm outta here…" he headed right for the door. "Good luck you guys."

"Alright Zel! Good luck to you too!" Gourry smiled, taking Sylphiel's hand and turned to the priest.

Sylphiel just rested her head on Gourry's shoulder as the ceremony took place, glad that she wasn't too late in getting her heart's desire after all….


End file.
